The Decision Before Delilah // Death to Distraction: Week 1 // Pastor Michael Todd

Welcome to Transformation Church Podcast, where we represent God to

the lost and found for transformation in Christ. We're so

glad you're here and wherever you're listening from, we believe

God will transform your life. Do today's message amen?

Well, Today we are starting a brand news series simply

entitled The Death to Distraction.

You should be intimidated.

Because in this series, I feel like it may be

the most important series I've ever preached. If you get

the principles within this series the next eight weeks, it

will eliminate your delay. Most of the things that God

desires to do is not an issue on his side.

I'm gonna say it one more time because some of

y'all think God's being slow. Most of the things that

God desires to do in your life is not an issue,

a problem, a defect on the side of the deity.

It's usually something in us that has been disobedient. And

I need us to be honest about where we are

in the area of focus. Everybody, say focus, Come on,

say it with faith?

Focus.

Can we be hot, humble, open and transparent? How many

people have an area in your life that it's hard

for you to focus? Come on, just come on? How many,

put your other hand up. If you have several areas

that is hard, okay, all right, clap twice. If there's

not many areas you can't focus in, okay.

Clap twice. Yep, thank you, And the others is lying

the reason I'm.

Trying to bring us all to the same place, because

this message series is not for your neighbor.

This one's for you. And so today as.

We walk through literally just the intro, I was in

the back going through with the team what I was

about to preach and they was like, that's like four

weeks right there.

Slow down, calm down, let them get it.

And so today it's just the introduction of the concept

of how we are going to put to death the

things that are distracting us and taking us away from

shout the word of the year Focus. And so as

we come into today's message, I don't want to just

set a framework for this message. I want to set

a framework for the year, because if we don't set

a framework for the year, at some point in March,

you gonna get off focus. If I don't set a

frame work for the whole year, sometime in the summer,

we're gonna throw off restraint.

And so instead of just the word of the year,

which the word of the year.

Transformation Church is saying, with faith focus, God gave me

a scripture of the year. And my prayer is by

the end of this year, every person under the sound

of my voice would.

Know this by heart.

You wouldn't need to pull up the U version to

say this one. This would be a scripture that you

hide in your heart. And this scripture that talks about

our focus is Hebrew's twelve one, Hebrews twelve one and two.

We're gonna say it together.

And since it's the first time we're saying, we're gonna

try something different with everybody's stand up for me real quick,

Come on, just stand up. In all school church, we

used to stand for the reading of God's word.

Now I ain't no more power in standing. You could

do it sitting.

But I'm doing this for the old schools sayings to

remind you where we came from. All right, all right,

I'm gonna put it. Yeah, read, No, everybody's gonna read. Okay,

I'm gonna put it on the back of the screen.

And we're going to try to do something that is

very difficult to do with this.

Many thousands of people.

So I'm gonna conduct you, but I want us to

read this scripture together. Let's see how this goes, because

if it don't go good today, then from now I'm

gonna read it. Okay, everybody, say together, Therefore, since we

are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let

us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that

so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance.

The race marked out for us. Here. It is fixing

our eyes.

Focus, fixing our eyes.

Say it with me. Focus.

I'm going to fix my eyes and focus on what

on Jesus, the pioneer and the prefector of faith, for

the joy set before him. He endured the cross, scorning

its shame and sat down at the right hand of

the throne of God.

We did it.

J'll give it up, Give it up, Give it up.

You may be seen that Hebrews twelve one and two.

For the rest of the year, we're gonna say that

every week. And you can go ahead and make this easy.

And you should read this and try to memorize it

every single day, because I just gave you the answer

to all of your distractions. Before we take the next test,

how do you get your distractions to no longer put

you on the path of a detour? You fix your eyes,

focus on Jesus. Write it down at the point. Fixing

your eyes on Jesus gives you the faith to focus.

I'm so distracted. I bet you not looking at Jesus. No,

I'm literally Any time in your life where distraction is

dominating you, I promise you the focus is not Jesus.

Think about it. Think about your worst season.

Think about the season where you didn't feel like yourself.

Think about the season.

Where it felt like the enemy was just running over you,

and things were coming from the left and the right

and all that other stuff. It was a conglomeration of

a lot of things, But one thing it wasn't.

Was a fixed focus on Jesus.

And if you could decide that my answer is to

fix my eyes, I would be able to stay distraction

free from.

The things that try to entangle me.

Remember what that scripture said, we have to set.

Aside every weight. A weight is a distraction.

A wait is that relationship you keep trying to make work.

A weight is that image you keep trying to keep up.

A weight is actually saying not how you feel and

making people feel like you all right, when there's really

an issue that you won't confront.

The reason we know the weight is.

A distraction because he said.

I want you to run your race, and no runner

is trying to.

Run his race with more weight on them. Y'all know

what the Olympics. They be in the smallest little draws.

Everybody in draws.

Y'all know what I'm talking about. They in the.

Thinnest little spandex drawls, because even.

Might grow small cotton.

Sweats would be a weight, and the weight would be

a disadvantage for them running their race. And God's saying,

I want you to put off distraction so you can

run this race. And so that means I gotta fix

my focus. Somebody say, fix my focus.

Ooh, this is gonna be so good.

This gonna be so good, This gonna be so good.

Everybody say, fix my focus. How am I gonna make

it through this school year? Fix my focus? How I'm

gonna raise these kids even though they daddy's a fool.

Fix my.

Because at some point you can't change anybody else. I

wish you could get this one for real. At some point,

the thing that frustrates you. That has been an excuse.

You can no longer do anything to change that. You

have to take.

Responsibility for where you are.

What's happening, and you need to fix your focus on Jesus.

I'm gonna make it through this traumatic situation that I'm

gonna going through right now, where I'm grieving and there's

a bunch of loss and I can't tell up from down.

I'm gonna fix my focus.

And that's why I need everybody to know, because right

now people are looking and listening to this and be like, yeah,

they are distracted by that.

Oh I saw, Oh my God, how they distracted by that?

All of us have a distraction somewhere, and so I

need you to understand this point right here. All distractions

are different, but they all have the same answer. You're

distract maybe resources and finances, but the answer to be

able to not drown in debt is to fix your

focus on Jesus. Gossor Mike, how practical is that God

talks about finances and money and what to do with

this so much in the Word of God, But most

of us are looking to gurus who do not value

the principles that you said that you were going to

live by in the kingdom, and so you're putting your

money in stuff and not honoring God. First that he said,

if you would fix your focus on me, And what

I said, somebody.

Say, fix it. You never met.

Somebody has a bad attitude and it's a time.

To be happy.

And sometimes old Auntie will come by and just say

fix it. They won't even look at you for real,

they won't even do it.

Ah, fix it. I feel like the.

Holy Spirit is saying to some of y'allhod is like,

are they my husband?

Are they my husband?

Are they somebody shot at me?

Fix it? Fix is that? The business? Is that? The business?

Is that?

The business? A fix?

He'll whisper for a witty invention and idea to you.

I'll be watching Shark Tank sometimes being like, God, what's

up the scrubby dub thing with the smile? Y'all ever

seen that thing? It's a little smile. It's a sponge.

It's a sponge with a smile and a thing. God,

why not me? But many times we're looking for something.

When God said, if you would get.

In my face, if you would petition heaven more, Ah,

if you would come to the one who.

Is and is and will be to you. If you

get to me, somebody shot at me one more time.

Fix it. That's why one Corinthians ten thirteen.

Tells us that our distractions are not new. It says,

the temptations or distractions in your life are no different

from what others have experienced. So sorry to bust your bubble.

Your distraction doesn't make you special. Your distraction makes you human.

What you're gonna do with it? Can I say this?

Some of our distractions watch this aren't bad. They're just

not Him. Because some of y'all are thinking you're alcohol

and drugs and no your kids. But these mad kids,

they were his kids before they were your kids. It says,

before you were formed in your mother's womb.

I knew you.

You waited nine months to see what they was looking like.

He was already making portraits.

Of of it.

He Can I be seriously, some of your distraction is ministry.

You will pray for somebody and not be patient with them.

And what God is saying to you is you are

being distracted by the function.

I don't know what your distraction.

Is today, but if it is out of priority and

God is not your focus, it is time to have

a funeral for the distractions in your life.

And before we go to the funeral, God's requiring you

to actually put it to death.

See See, this is the moment that you understand what

an altar is. Everybody talks about God changed me at

the altar. The altar is the place where things die.

An altar is not the place even when you think

about marriage. The reason they call it an altar is

because it's supposed to be the death of the individual,

and it's supposed to be a new life happening through

a covenant that is made by those two people. The

two shall become one. It can't be three of y'all

because the other.

Two should have died. And it was saying this is

not a part of my message.

But anytime you hear the altar, think not sweet somber music.

When you think altar, blood, death, no more. And it was.

Usually in the Bible a sacrifice to God. What does

it look like for you to bring the thing that

has been taking away your focus and you put it

on the altar before God in the first month of

twenty twenty five, and you say, God, I'm not just

gonna tell you to take it.

I'm gonna kill it.

Because most of us want our distraction to be kidnapped.

You don't want to kill it. You just want to

be gone.

For a season till I get strong enough to handle it.

And then they doesn't have no way, They don't have

no power over me.

Oh, I'm a stronging a lord.

Until you're right back, somebody say.

Fix it.

Yeah, that's why the Bible is telling us. Your distracting

ain't different than any distraction anybody's ever had. It might

be an HD now, it may be more magnified, it

might be technology might help it a little bit, But

the same distraction you have, everybody can experience that. And

it says, and God is faithful. The temptation in your

lives are no different from what others experience. And God

is what is He faithful. He will not allow the

temptation to be more than you can stand. That means,

as a believer, you never can fall into a temptation

because he said he never lets you be tempted. Bob

what you can with So if you ever fall to

your distraction.

You just.

This is why I'm trying to help you. If you

ever said, she just asked me too, many times, she

just asked me too many, Oh my God, I did

not have to fall.

I just got tired of standing. And too many believers

are in a place where they feel like.

I've been standing for purity for seven years. God, and

I'm ovulating and he look good.

Y'all better help me in this place.

And I don't know what's going on. And this one

is extra strong. Handwear cologne, hand kick up, and Lord

he be posing stransation. And God.

He got myself and you. He said, if you fall,

though you decided, he said this.

One, it's still not more than you can with stand.

Think about the things you said just happened. Think about

the things that you said.

I I'm Here's one time.

He said that our God is somebody shouted me, faithful.

He will not allow the temptation to be more than

you can stand.

So when you are tempted, he will always show you

a way.

Somebody shout out. He'll always show you every time I'm tempted,

because he is faithful. This is character right now, he said,

God is what faithful. He'll never tempt you more than

you can withstand. So when you get tempted, he'll.

Always show you a way.

Out.

So when I read this scripture, I just thought about

all the times I didn't see the way out.

Oh y'all gonna leave me up here by myself.

It was like I thought, I looked around, I didn't

see nothing.

But then when I begin to look deeper, I found

out I would so distracted.

By what I had already decided.

Oh my god, many times when God provides a way out,

we're so distracted by what we've already.

I wouldn't even be here if I wasn't gonna do it.

And that's when not knocking, Are they gone?

That was your way out?

Yeah, you walk back in there, double locket, double locked.

Why didn't you see the way of escape? Maybe because

it wasn't your focus. Because if somebody was kidnapping you,

the only thing you would be looking for. Under different circumstances,

you would you would be looking for any moment did

they crack the window? Did they go to leave the

and I did through this concrete floor. You would do

impossible things. Have y'all heard of people like digging out

of jail, sales.

With a spoon and stuff like that. Do you know

how the years that.

Would take all my prison people watching don't do that. Okay, no,

go God is going to restore you in a different way.

But what I'm saying to you, But what I'm saying we.

Got to broad audience, y'all, that's my people. Okay, shout

out everybody in the potent of territory.

God's gonna transform y'all life.

But don't.

But what I'm saying to you is in a different situation.

You're always looking for a way. Yet when it's a

temptation and a and a decision and a distraction, we chose,

we don't see it. So pastorbody, what are you trying

to tell me? If you don't get nothing else, get

this point right here. Your distraction is your decision.

Nobody told me this.

Nobody told me that everything I'm distracted by I decided

to be distracted by it. Your distraction is your decision.

I need you to hear me say this because until

you take ownership, you will always farm out blame where

you could actually change the course of your life through

confronting something that is not like you want.

It in your life.

The first step to deliverance is acceptance.

I chose this them Amen's is getting weak.

The reason why is because the repeats of the relationship,

nobody forced you into that.

You keep deciding.

To get the bad boy, that kind of love God

and play an instrument on the side.

That is a rough combination. And you've been to four

states one one's in high school. Now you're forty. Same

thing you decided.

You decided to accept poverty. I didn't say you decided

to be born into it. But after you came of

the age where you understood what was happening to you,

some of us decided to keep signing up for Section eight,

start a business on the side, not report our income,

and actually live because I can get my house for

six hundred dollars and okay, that's all right, it's too much.

I get it, I understand, But you can't ask God

to bless you, and you still decide to be distracted

by poverty. Some of y'all decided to be greedy. You

have set up in your heart to have a hard

heart and be judgmental, and as soon as somebody comes

in looking like you used to look in a different

season when we didn't know you, you automatically project on

them who you were and don't give them.

The grace that you needed. And so you begin to

push back on them and link at that spirit that

as a bell spirit, and that that no, no, no, no, no no.

You decided to be.

What turns you into you, and instead of being somebody

that can transform them and help show them along the

way how to transform and change. Whatever your distraction is,

you decided it that substance, you decided think about it

at this point, whose fault is it? Now? Know this

is strong, But let me give you some encouragement, because

this is the year that we're gonna put a depth

of distraction. The reason why I'm so aggressive on this

is because you can't live another year in the same decisions.

That you've been living in. There's got to be a break.

I feel that thing right now.

There's got to be something that chops off the head.

Of the enemy in your life.

There has to be something that says, not another year,

not another month, not another day. I'm gonna put depth

this distraction because it's cost me two lunch.

I will not be delayed.

Somebody shot at me, I will not be delayed.

But if you won't own the.

Fact that I chose the distraction, some of y'all so

been out of shape about TikTok being gone.

I mean, y'all hurt. You didn't grieve like this when

your uncle died. This I seem more posts they have

in funerals. They doing all kinds of stuff for an

app that has been a distraction.

Some of y'all should shout because you just got your

life back. Some of y'all should shout because now you've

got time to make the business plan.

You've been broke so long watching.

Other people do few review that you didn't do.

What God told you to do.

But I'm telling you, I'm putting depth to distraction.

Let me calm down, Let me calm down. I'm trying to.

The Holy Spirit gave some of y'all a head start

on the plan that he has for your life because

he knew you were addicted. And some of y'all are

having watched this withdrawals. Oh my gosh, you gonna see

it in the next few days. People gonna open my

space back up. Black Planet on the way. Oh, they

laying down distractions.

Y'all didn't see it.

They came, somebody go get a trash can. They said,

I'm not gonna wait until Monday night. We've been laying

down distractions all week. Oh somebody else came from out

of town. They said, I'm laying down distraction. I'm laying

down y'all be the place with me.

Not another year, not another day.

I'm laying down distractions cause I'll have the faith too.

Focus.

All right, here we go, And just for anybody else,

if you need to lay anything else down, you can

come on and bring it to the dolls.

Okay, we not waiting. This ain't a formula.

This is not something we're trying to be pretty in

front of people.

We gonna get delivered in this place.

That's gonna be freedom in the house of God.

Yeap, gonna throw it in there, Jay, gona throw it

in there. Gon throw it in there. Come on, go

and throw it in there, going, throw it in there.

Come on.

Yeah, he throwing that faith in there. He said, no

more of this faith, take it away my life. I'm

putting the depth to the distrest. Just keep it right

here in the front, Just keep it right in the front. Yeah,

come on, come on, She said, I'm throwing it away.

It's a done deal. It's a dune deal. Come on,

put the cigarettes in there.

It's a dun deal. Come on, put it in there.

It's a y'all better you. This is where the church outs.

This is where peliefers make a decision.

This is where we say not, I'm not good, dave

Ene mean you're under my feet. Yep, yep, yep.

There's more people coming. You might as well believe with

them and shout with them. He said, I'm not gonna

let my life be destroyed by ovate.

Hey, listen, there's about.

Ten people that came right now this past week. People

came and gave weed peels. They came and gave alcohol.

They came and laid down jerseys, items, witchcraft. There's a

whole skeleton. Somebody came, y'all, don't hear me, and they

threw it.

They said, no longer will I be distracted.

If you got anything that you need to write down,

you can write that name. Come on, sins, write it down,

rip it up, tell them it's over. It's a done deal.

Glory to God. Y'all better shout with her. All right.

So now I need you to understand that there's power

in your decision. Okay, you want deliverance. Deliverance starts with

a decision. And so now I want you to understand

because decision people focus on the action of the decision,

the outcome of the decision, the outward manifestation of the decision.

But I want you to understand and dissect a decision

so that you can understand the power that you have.

Okay, and write this point down.

The power of a decision is in the process of

your decision.

No decision just happens.

There's a decision that everybody sees, but there was a

process that nobody sees except you.

And most time we were like, I just did it.

No you didn't. It just happened. No, it didn't. I

was there and then I was here.

I want to give you, I want to expose the enemy.

I want to give you revelation revealed you if I

want to pull the cover back on how you can

actually capture and understand where you are in your decision

making process so you can then fix your eyes on Jesus.

So watch this.

The process of a decision, it's three parts. Its first heart,

then its head, then it's hands. Every decision you make

first starts in your heart, then it percolates up in

your head, and then it comes out in your hands.

So when you're making a decision, the first time you

thought they was fine. That dropped in y'all heart. You

didn't just go in to him and start French kissing.

What it did? It started in your heart.

Look at that God bless he did, didn't he? And

then when you get lonely and you on.

Instagram and they have a wife or a husband, but

you're still looking you still, you start replacing the pictures

in your head. And then two weeks later they give

you a hug and he was like, oh my god,

why did they hug me? Like excuse me, sir, And

they're not even thinking anything about it. It's like, man, oh,

thank you so much opening the door for me. But

in your head, I'm married. No, I'm trying to tell

you how stuff happens. I'm being extreme, but I'm being serious.

And it can percolate and ruminate in your head for minutes, seconds,

or decades. So sometimes it doesn't take oh yeah, no, no, no.

That seed was planted in your heart years ago, and

many times it won't even come out around the people

it was planted with. Many times the seed gets planted

in one season, and because we don't pluck it out

of our heart, it goes to our thoughts and every

season and every time, and we just start thinking about it,

and eventually, when the circumstances become either desperate enough or

secret enough, it comes out in an action. So what

I want you to identify is where is the distraction

in process?

Right now? Is the distraction just in your heart?

Because you can come up here and praise, you can

lead us in worship, you can prophesies and nobody will

see it.

The distraction that is getting roots in your heart right now?

Some of y'all need to pluck y'all need to get

y'all hole and not whole like some of y'all need

to pluck them holes.

You need to get them out of your heart.

Sometimes the Lord needs to say it the way you

need to eat. Rick I was gonna say a hole

in a seven, but gardening to those guys, okay.

But it hit somebody's heart.

Somebody was like, my God, it's time to go gardening.

There's some of y'all, there's things been planted.

In your heart. I'm never gonna treat my kids like that.

And that thing has been planted in your heart so long,

and you don't know what type of kids you're gonna

have and you don't know what type of situation it is.

And because the seeds of discontentment and punishment are in there,

because it's what you experience. And you never brought that

thing to the Lord and actually give it to him

and allow him to change you from the inside out.

It's still got a hit of resentment and anger and

frustration and damage on it.

And so when it grows.

And your kids come out and you said, I'll beat you,

I ain't doing yet, but I'm thinking about it.

And at one time, I'm just trying to show you

if you don't catch it and take captive.

Thought, every vein imagination that would exalt itself against the

knowledge of.

Who God has created you to be. So where's your

distraction right now? Is it in your heart? Is it

in your head?

Or is it already in your head? A parenting thought

is that every great parent knows it's more important that

you understand why your kid did it.

Than what they did. The reason being is.

Because if you can locate why they made the decision,

you can potentially flip and turn this thing into something

that actually changes their destiny. But many times, because we

haven't dealt with our own situation, we just focus.

On what they did.

And we're dealing with the decision and we're not talking about.

The heart, posture, the thinking, and then the action.

So today I'm just asking you where's the distraction. Is

it internal and then does it go to your intellect

and then become an interaction? Write this down as a

point we're about to go home. Addressing the action will

change your day, but dissecting the reason for the decision

will change your destiny if we just addressed what the

end result was. That's why a lot of times when

people come to church, they're like almost centered.

We all are, but not like me. I've done the

wrong things. Yeah, we've done it too. I need to

be changed by God. That's happening all the time. But

the reason many people revisit the same car.

Crash is because they never go and deal with the

thing that's in their heart that keeps growing up. I'm

at this same scene all the time, and it's it

is my decision. I chose to do that. I chose

to do that. I chose to do that, And everybody's like,

don't do that. We're gonna pray and rebut that spirit,

we're gonna no stop. Look at me, what's in your

heart good that needs to actually actually be dealt with

because you keep making the same decision.

You keep making the same decision. But is it.

Insecurity that was planted there at thirteen when you tried

to do something and people laughed at you, and so

you decided I'll never be laughed at again. And you

found out that you had this one gifting talent, and

so you've trunk back everything else God wanted to do

in your life because you was just gonna give them.

We need to go to that, everybody say route, and

if we can get a hold of your decision, we

can get a hold of your destiny.

So today, in the intro.

Of this message, we set our frame as Jesus, fixing

our eyes on, fixing our focus on Jesus. Our foundation

for the next seven weeks is gonna be Hebrew twelve.

So I want you to know that we're fixing our focus.

But we're going to just for a case study. This

is where I'm gonna leave you. I'm gonna introduce you

to our case study for today and we're gonna pick

up in this story next week. But I just I

need to leave you with this one thing to go

to the Book of Judges, and we're gonna talk about

this character named Samson, a man who is known for

his relationship with distraction. Distraction cost him everything, even after

God placed his hand anointing an approval.

What does that mean?

You can be called and distracted, You can move in

the mighty power of God and be distracted.

And anytime I say the name Samson, what's the other

name that goes with it? What's the other name? Today?

I came to be a lawyer for Delilah.

Today, I would like to present to the jury.

That Sampson had issues before she came into the picture.

I would like to submit to the court the title

of my message.

Y'all get ready, the decision before Delilah. What if I

told you that Sampson's distraction and his known destruction was

the culmination of years of making poor decisions. What if

I tell you that your life is not just that

one job you didn't see your worth not giving you

a promotion. What if it's not just this big cataclysmic failure.

What if our distractions were actually wrapped up in small, daily,

micro decisions. Next week, I'm gonna start taking you through

Samson's story because I believe there's revelation in how we

have to guard ourselves from things that feel familiar, because

the faith to focus actually comes from us not becoming

familiar with things that God said are nowhere a part

of our destiny. Let me give you just one thing

about him. See, Samson's mom was not able to have kids.

She was barren, and she was praying, and the Angel

of the Lord came to her.

Ooh, this story gonna be so good for you.

Understand how to put death to your distraction and what

happens if you don't.

So she prayed to God the Angel.

Of the Lord, the Bible says, and judges came to her.

Judges thirteen, if you want to study up. He came

to her and said, you're gonna have a child, but

we need to make a deal.

This child belongs to God. This child is gonna have.

Super strength, but he has to take the Nazarite vow.

And she said, whatever you want to do, She said,

tell this baby that it can have no contact with

strong drink, nothing from a great no raisins, no alcohol,

no wine, because that's how it was fermented back then.

It can have no unclean thing to eat.

Which would have been poorn back in the day. So

no alcohol, no bacon. Okay, So some of y'all struggling

right there. Nobody can, Oh, my God, but bacon on everything. Okay,

No alcohol, no bacon. No contact with any dead thing.

No contact.

Boy that can preach just by itself. Why you keep

touching it? It's dead.

Some of y'all keep calling what's dead. Some of y'all

keep believing for what is dead? This Na's wife. I'll

touch no dead thing. And the last thing is, don't

cut his hair. And this young man has an encounter

several times with distraction and makes the wrong decision before Delilah,

way before he ever met the thing that would take

him down, he already decided he wasn't gonna withstand and

take the way of escape. The reason I have to

bring this up is because when God gave him the

Nazarite vow, the same way that God asks many of

you don't watch that, don't go there, don't talk to them.

Turn your bedtime. It's bedtime. It's bedtime for you. Some

of y'all this is prophetic. It's bedtime. It's eight forty five.

I'm a grown person. Nine point thirty, you turned into

a different person. It's bedtime, y'all. Hear what I'm saying.

It's bedtime for you. The reason why God many times

puts boundaries on things it is because he's trying to

make you holy. And I don't want you to think holy,

holy holy. That word means set apart. He said, I've

called you for something, like he called Samson for something,

and he's saying, I need you to do these things

that do not seem familiar to everybody else, but it's

the thing that I'm hiding your power within.

So I need you to be set apart. So we

might not be at that, and we.

Might not go to that, and we might not talk

about that, and we might not eat that, and we

might not.

Be doing what y'all doing because I am.

Set, and because God was trying to set him apart

the way I believe He's trying to set many of

you apart in this year of twenty twenty five.

That's why he made the word of the year. What

facus focus on what I'm saying.

Forget what the economy is doing, forget what TikTok is doing,

forget what all of this stuff.

Focus on what I'm saying.

The reason why you have to understand this is important

because God always hides blessings inside of boundaries. God always

puts blessings.

Inside of boundaries.

As I end today, I want to tell you a

story about young Michael Todd in high school when God

set a boundary around my life in in Edison High School.

And I was in Edison High School in my ninth

grade year and the Holy Spirit told me that I

needed to stop eating meat at lunchtime in my school.

And this was the year they started serving Mazio pizza

at my school.

I was fat back then and very hungry. I'm just

telling you a real story.

And I remember telling my mom and a couple of

other people, you remember this, Mom, And and I just

I just said, I know, I'm not supposed to. I

just feel like God's telling me. It wasn't a youth

group thing.

It was. It wasn't a call from the church. I

was in ninth grade.

And the Holy Spirit said you need to stop eating

meat at lunch. He was trying to do something in

my heart. Literally, for the entire ninth grade year, all

I ate for lunch was French fries. Now there were

mounds of French fries. I want you to know that

I wasn't hungry.

French fries, rans, cheese, ketchup.

People would just come and dum't they fries on my

plate like it was a blessing. But at the same time,

I wasn't losing calories. I was being set apart for

my calling. He was trying to see in an environment

where nobody in my school was fasted, nobody.

There was nobody do it.

And God said, would you do what is unusual to

live a life that is unusual?

Will you give up the distraction.

Of what everybody else is doing to obey what I'm asking.

You to do.

And I'm telling you I can't tell you when it

happened what happened, because I did a lot of stupid

stuff even after fasting. But I'm telling you a process

started in me of sanctification.

Where God was making me.

Into his image because I decided I was going to

try to be focused on him.

And when I look.

At the thought of Samson doing what God asked him

to do, he was giving him boundaries because he wanted

to protect a blessing for him. If you could stop

looking at the boundaries that God's given you as some

type of shackle and you actually look at.

It as protection.

It would change the way that you view how God

is trying to set you apart. Everybody's standing all over

this place. Next week, I'm gonna preach a message called

every No, I'm not.

Gonna tell you the title.

Yeah, just come back to the next week because i

want to want to preach it. But I'm telling you

it's gonna change your life. This doorway is gonna make

sense next week because I'm gonna give you the ability

to take ownership of your decisions. Thank you Lord, that

today is the beginning of us putting death to our distractions.

But our distractions have been our decision. So today or asking.

You to help us change our decisions, would you lift

your hands all over this place. God, there is a

bunch of people with different distractions. Me included that today

you have given me power by your Holy Spirit to

make a different decision. Thank you Father God, that a

decision can get me into it and a decision can

get me out of it. Fixing our focus on Jesus today, Father,

where my focus has not been you, would you show

me how to lay down on the altar my distractions

and not just kill them metaphorically, but actually sacrifice.

Them to you.

Whether that means I got to change my number, whether

that means I got to delete apps, whether that means

I have to have a hard conversation, I have to

schedule therapy, whether that means, Father God, I have to

literally work somewhere else. God, I'm asking you, let this

be the year, the month, the week, the day that

that distraction no longer leads me to destruction. I pray,

Father God, that we would stop blaming the Delilahs in

our life when it's been our decisions.

Father, your word says you give us.

Both the desire and the power to do what pleases you.

So thank you Father, that that scripture comes alive on

the inside of every one of your children.

Today, and that you give us the authority as well.

Father God, as a courage to be like these people

who came and gave up things that represented weights that

so easily would deter us and distract us. Today, God,

we are fixing our eyes, fixing our focus on you.

God. I look to you, I won't be overwhelmed. Give

me vision to see things like you do. God, I

look to you. Sure where My hell comes.

From give me Wizdom. You know just what to do.

If you're under the sound of my voice and you've

never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior. Whether

you're in this room, you're watching at home, you're currently incarcerated,

you're watching this on rebroadcast. I believe the Holy Spirit

has been drawing you to this moment right here. If

you're in this room, I need you to begin to

pray because people's eternities and lives are on the line

by one decision. You know how powerful a decision is.

We come to faith by a decision. All of our

eternity is secured by a decision. And today I'm so

proud of you, says today. You can make a decision

if you want to make Jesus Christ your personal.

Lord and savior.

Whether you're in this room or you're watching online. On

the counter of three, I just want you to lift

your hands. As people are surrendering things, they said.

I'm not walking out of here with this distraction.

You can do the same thing, but you gotta let

it start.

In your heart.

The action is great, the thoughts are great, but let God.

Take over your heart. He's the only one that if

you give him your heart, he'll help you change your habits.

Today you've come to the right place, the Hospital for Humanity,

and today.

I want you to give your life to Jesus.

One, you're making the greatest decision of your life. Number two,

your name, your eternity is gonna be secured. You're gonna

have your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Three,

lift your hands if you want to give your life

to Jesus.

All over this place and in the room, I see

you in the back.

I see you. I see you right there. Anybody else,

come on, I see you brother. If it's just for you,

I see you, sister. Listen, I see you right there.

There are hands up. And if you're watching online, just

put your hand up in the chat today.

If it's one person, which there.

Were several in this room that are making a somebody

say decision.

Today, God's going to transform your life.

At Transformation Church, nobody prays along.

We are family.

So would you just lift your hands and say God,

thank you for sending Jesus just for me today. I

admit I'm a sinner and I need you to be

my savior. I believe you lived you died and you

rose again just for me. Here's my life. Take over,

use me, renew me, transform me. I'm yours in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Hey, can we celebrate all over this place? Oh?

Come on, y'all.

This is the decision that changes everything.

Thank you for joining us today. If you said that

prayer and accept it Jesus into your heart, it's the

best decision you could ever make.

We want to.

Celebrate with you, and we have some tools to help

you on your journey. Tech saved to A two eight

two a two, and to find out more about TC

text connect to a two A two A two. Be

sure to subscribe and share this podcast with your friends.

Thanks for listening. Now go out and live a transform life.